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Date: 9/17/2021
SOUTH HADLEY – Continued efforts to remediate mold from the South Hadley High School (SHHS) was the most significant topic of discussion during the Sept. 16 South Hadley School Committee.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Lily Newman questioned how the five remote days the SHHS had been granted aligned with the timeline of mold mitigation at the building. During his report, Superintendent Jamal Mosley addressed Newman’s questions and began by thanking the community for their “outreach and support” amid the trying times as well as their advocacy for the students. He went on to give an update about the high school, which he said was changing rapidly. Mosley explained that ATC, the company hired to test for mold within the high school, had gone to the school that day and was awaiting the results of the test for the 400s, 500s, and 600s classrooms “to make sure we’re not going on the eye test per se, but going on what the testing says which is very, very important.”
He said it was expected the hallways for classrooms numbers in the 100s, 200s and 300s would be completed in time for testing by the weekend of Sept. 18 and they were hoping to have the building ready for in-person learning. He also said testing in the gym indicated it “had little to no mold spores,” which would accelerate the timeline of cleaning and remediation.
Mosley went on to say the district was planning for both the building to be ready for in-person learning and for it to not be ready. He said should the building not be ready for in-person learning, they would “sit and have a discussion” for ATC and ServiceMaster, the company hired by the district to clean the mold from the high school, to find out which parts of the building would be successfully cleaned and how to proceed. Mosley also mentioned that a forum had been planned for Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. for the community to hear from both companies and allow for questions to be asked.
He also addressed the $500,000 that had been allocated by the Selectboard from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. He said it was “a preliminary allocation” and there would be more discussion, but it was “a first step and it’s appreciated.” He outlined the costs associated with the remediation, which included the cleaning and items that needed to be disposed of due to the mold.
Mosley also addressed the conversations surrounding ensuring a similar situation would not take place in other buildings in the district. He said the topic would be part of ongoing conversations. He said, “In the coming months that is going to be a topic of discussion and certainly we’re going to make sure the public is aware of both the good and the bad happening in our schools in terms of capital improvements.”
South Hadley Public Schools Business Administrator Jennifer Voyik shared that ATC had inspected the “horseshoe area” of the high school. She said they had done “a really thorough visual inspection,” as well as tape tests and spore samples. “The feedback I got was those areas are 98 percent clean,” she said, explaining that meant some smaller areas may need to be addressed, which would require ServiceMaster to go back in and clean once again.
Chair Allison Schlachter asked about a potential appeal process should five remote days not be enough. Mosley said he hoped five days would be enough, and he had been in constant contact with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). “I think that we are very fortunate that we got that consideration and I think the goal for everyone and DESE is to be in person. If we’re up against the wall and what I call the critical hour we can certainly make that appeal,” he said. However, he added that he would prefer not to do that and to instead “set expectations for cleaning and testing” to ensure something like this would not happen again.
SHHS Principal Liz Wood gave an overview of the first day of remote learning, which she said was “exciting to get our students back.” She said there were some “technology glitches” along with an Internet outage. However, she said students and staff had “teamed together” to overcome the obstacles that had been presented to them. “Day one is done and we’re ready for day two tomorrow,” she said.
Schlachter went on to thank everyone who had put in the work for the SHHS. She said while five days of remote learning didn’t seem like much, “getting them was no easy feat.” She also acknowledged how the community came together. “That gave [state Sen.] Jo Commerford and [state Rep.] Dan Carey an even stronger voice when they were meeting with DESE. In this circumstance our community had a strong, united voice,” she said. “With that united our representatives were able to get that job done, to get five days of remote learning.”
After giving an overview of COVID-19 procedures within the school, Assistant Superintendent Mark McLaughlin was asked about current numbers by committee member Danielle Cooke. While he said he did not have the exact numbers in front of him, McLaughin said it had been “nominal” at each school. “For the most part, there have not been in-school transmission,” he said, explaining activities outside of school seem to be the cause of transmission.
Voyik gave an update on funding for funding sources for the remediation of mold at the SHHS. She first thanked the Selectboard for committing $500,000 of ARPA funds as she said “it’s really a huge relief off my mind as I was trying to figure out how we were going to pay” for the mold remediation. She added that they had also been in contact with DESE to see if there were funding opportunities there. Voyik went on to say that there was a long process ahead in terms of “recouping” what was lost to the mold damage.
When she referenced the need to rebuild supplies in classroom buildings, member Jen Matos asked if there was a wish list where people could donate. Voyik said while she could provide a list of items needed, someone outside of the administration or committee would need to lead the effort. Schlachter asked about the policy regarding teachers not being allowed to accept gifts over $50, she questioned how it would work for donations. Voyik said there were laws surrounding gifts, but she gave an example of businesses that had presented checks in donations previously. She said groups could come together on their own to talk to Mosley to see if the district could and/or would accept such donations.
Mosley called it “a slippery slope” as once there was money exchanged it had to be put into accounts. “It becomes very dicey if it’s not done correctly,” he said.
When asked about supply donations, Voyik said donations whether, monetary or materials, would go before the School Committee to see whether it could/would be “accepted in.” Student Representative Kaily Godek asked about how textbook shortages would be dealt with in the meantime until materials could be replaced. Voyik explained it was “a few books in each classroom” so she did not feel as though it would create a significant shortage.
Wood said, “We will have textbooks available for students.” She added that over the past year students and staff have had to rely on digital texts and sources. She said she felt teachers had done a great job at incorporating such texts into their curriculum, and they would be able to “adapt and overcome.”
The School Committee will meet next on Sept. 30 at 6 p.m.